I think I pull with my back a little too much since I'm not as vertical as I should be at the beginning of the lift. After reviewing it some more, it could be loads worse. I just want to get it perfect especially since I'm creeping up on heavier numbers.

When I started PHAT, I saw arm day as ‘bro day’ and nothing more. I knew lower-body days, both power and hypertrophy, would be the sessions I loved: I have always gotten an intense satisfaction from trashing my legs to the point where it becomes difficult to walk for a day or two; I knew that shoulder day would be seen as a welcomed challenge: I have always struggled with overhead presses and, subsequently, gaining mass in that area.

Arms, on the other hand (pun only slightly unintended), have never really done anything for me, which is why, at first, I didn’t want to run the 5-day split. I couldn’t imagine dedicating an entire hour to curls, extensions, and presses when I could be doing deads, squats, or rows.

It’s funny how much can change in one month. Arm day and I now have an unspoken agreement: I look forward to it because I know that, if I want to be competition-worthy, I have to get my bench number up and I have to be aggressively consistent with making this happen. And if it means having a Bro-Day every week, I welcome it. I have found exercises that I really fucking love (hello, rope extensions) that make up for the bro-tastic nature of doing two different kinds of curls and bench presses in one day. Plus, look at the note on my last exercise.

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 1x25 5x20 6x20 8x15 Notes: These were more than likely unnecessary since I used a higher weight with the bar (and the low numbers reflect this) but I like making sure every muscle fiber is engage on bench. Plus, if I didn’t knock out at least one rep with the 25s, I was not going to be satisfied.

Cable Chest Press 10x40 8x40 8x30 Notes: Even though I hate using machines, if I use proper form and controlled motion, I can actually feel it in my chest which is an area that needs serious work. Not sure if I’m going to keep them in here as I’m looking into other things for chest work, though.

Hammer Curls10x209x2012x15Notes: Nothing groundbreaking here but I wanted the 8-12 range with as little motion from anywhere but my arms – I’ve been seeing so many people in the gym who use their backs to “swing” the dumbbell up once they get to heavier weights. Not this kid.

Tricep Pushdown with Rope Attachment 12x60 7x70 8x70 5x80 Notes: There is no other word to describe these for me other than intense. Getting the 80s down was like smashing through a brickwall with a toothpick. Or something. Feltgood.

Cable Flyes 10x20 5x30 12x20 Notes: I was going to do these with dumbbells but I think my joints are much more pleased that I made the decision to do them from the rack. They were just as challenging as I expected since flyes haven’t been a part of my routine in months and I’m actually looking forward to pushing myself with these.

Skullcrushers (With an EZ-bar) 2x10x20 Notes: These were less painful, joint-wise, than usual but I’m inclined to wonder if that means I wasn’t going deep enough on them.

Then I did burn-out sets of assisted dips and pull-ups for some “cool down cardio” which was, yet again, pretty un-noteworthy. However, those lackluster numbers prompted to do two things I never do: ab-work and push-ups.

Crunches (Various kinds) 50

Push-ups 3x15 Notes: Six months ago I couldn’t do a “real” push-up to save my life. Yesterday I banged out 45. Other than unassisted pull-ups, this has been something I’ve looked forward to since the very beginning of my fitness “career.” Sounds silly but it made me feel awesome.

Macros 50/140/230Notes: Upping carbohydrates and decreasing protein for several reasons, most notably to re-organize my eating patterns so I can determine if pre-work out carbs actually help my lifts or not and because I'm cutting out seitan/gluten-based proteins. Double bonus: it brings my sodium numbers down like no other.

I ate a real pre-work out meal for the first time since starting PHAT (I believe) and, my God, I have missed oats. Other than that, pre-work out was a lot of housekeeping duties so that, after I hit the gym, I could hit the Word.doc and bang out some article outlines and ideas for things that I’m hoping to get off the ground within the next two months. Keeping this short and sweet, though, because I’m in the zone for articles and other things.

Keep your eye out for those and to see how ridiculous my nutrition for today is – I’m going to a show at my favorite bar with all of the people I know in Cleveland. Protein, protein, protein and fitting brews into my macros.

Work OutStanding Barbell Shoulder Press 6x45 6x3x50 Notes: Speed work not at 65-70%, though, because I’ll be damned if I can’t add weight on the rest of my January power days since my form is finally locked in on this lift.

Bent Over Barbell Rows 10x45 5x3x70 5x70 Notes: Speed work. These went up like my insulin after eating a whole pizza to myself for dinner tonight even though I, unintentionally, lifted at a higher percentage than I should have.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press 9x20 6x20 8x15 Notes: My disappointment in these numbers is negated by the fact that I did my 6x3 with the same weight as my working power sets. Plus, I super-setted them with the following.

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 8x15 20x10 Notes: None, these were draining in the best way possible.

Dumbbell Bent Over Rows 2x10x30 Notes: These were supposed to be 6x35 and 2x10x30 but, since I lifted heavier on my speed work, I could barely do one rep with the 35s.

Front Lateral Raise 2x12x15 Notes: I dropped weight on these because I want to only be using weight that I can, at the very least, get to above my chin. I’ll be increasing weight as this happens but I’d much rather hit full ROM than half-ass them with 35s and above. I super-setted them with the following.

Front Lateral Raise Overhead 2x10x5 Notes: More like “overhead and behind my back.” Should have used 10s but the last set was pretty brutal.

Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise 12x25 12x20 12x15 Notes: Dropped weight on these for the same reason as front raises. I want to get the lift higher to more of the muscle so that, when I am back up to 30s, I’ll be getting the most out of the motion.

Upright Rows (Cable-bar) 12x60 10x70 8x80 Notes: Someone else was using the 30s so I used a flat bar and did these on the rack-cables. This proved to make the lift a little bit more difficult as I still had to pull a bit to “hold” the bar at the bottom (if that makes sense). That said, I’m happy with how hard I pushed myself with these.

Lateral Pulldowns 6x70 8x60 12x50 Notes: Since these hit arms as well as the back, they were slightly lacking after yesterday’s session. I can dig the last set, though.

Shrugs 12x150 12x160 10x170 Notes: Beast. Mode. I also found a way around grip issues by using the cable-rack’s flat-bar attachment. This actually made 150 feel heavier than the 145 I was doing before largely, I think, because when I was using the barbell, my arms played a much bigger role than I wanted to admit. Halfway through the set of 170 I felt like I was going to pass out from effort. Feltgood.

Long Pulls 12x80 15x70 Notes: These were more difficult than the last round, maybe because of the weight on BOBR/BODBRs. Slightly disappointing.

Cable Reverse Flyes 5x20 2x10x10 Notes: These were a killer way to end the session - it took me a good five minutes to get my coat on because of the burn.

MACROS: 60/131/200

Included in these are all of the following: oatmeal, pizza, cashews, almonds, a Clif Builders bar, and soy ice cream. And I’m still under my 2,000. IIFYM – learn it, live it, love it.

I'm hoping that this'll help out my shoulder press and bench - I got a lot of catch up to play with you in terms of upper body.

Nicholas - Thanks! I'm pretty excited to see how things progress over the next few months. I'm not sure how long I'll be running this split, though, I'm going to do a 12 week minimum and re-evaluate from there. I'm also working on that Food Voodoo recipe for you - there's some minor tweakage going on with it to get the consistency right but once I figure that out, I'll for sure post it up.

Also, I decided not to track my macros for today, and probably won't tomorrow or on Christmas because my parents want to do the whole "sight-seeing" thing while they visit - i.e. go out to all the vegan joints and good bars around because they're "foodies" at heart.

So ...

Rest Day Eats:

What you see there is, no joke, about two pounds of a Spinach Pie grilled cheese from the famed Melt Bar & Grilled with the addition of their amazing in-house made seitan, french fries, and cole slaw. Google "Melt Bar & Grilled" if you're unfamiliar and be prepared to be grossed out/amazed. I only ate half at dinner and decided to save the rest for lunch tomorrow since I also opted to have some brews tonight with my dad. What's up? My fat storage. Cares? Zero.

love me some Melt! Haven't eaten there since becoming vegan so that gives me a reason to go now!

love me some Melt! Haven't eaten there since becoming vegan so that gives me a reason to go now!

Do it! It's definitely worth supporting their vegan endeavors. I've only ever gone twice but both times have been worthwhile. Also, it's nice to see another Clevelander on here! If you ever do decide to hit Melt, we should hang - we can talk about our fitness goals over greasy bar food! Ha.

01.16.11 Rest DayA Tangent“I’m going to go with the Golden Monkey. Four-fifty for that high of ABV? Come on,” said my girlfriend last night as we walked up to order drinks at Now That’s Class before the Weekend Nachos, Homewrecker, Masakari, and Grin and Bear It show. A smile crept onto my face as I knew, without a doubt, the night was going to be solid. Turns out, it was about as rock-hard as the lead singer of Harms Way. And I only have my new friends and loving girlfriend to thank for it.

See, I moved to Cleveland roughly three and a half months ago and have “struggled” to find my niche, largely because, for the last three and a half months, my life has consisted of three things: work, working out, and recovering from both activities. All of my “artistic,” “academic,” and “business” endeavors have suffered and what little social life I had back in Cincinnati dissipated into short conversations held between ringing out customers and overhead press sets. And, to be honest, my mental state has been on a steady decline because of this. Not that I’m a social butterfly or a starving, but brilliant, artist – I just know that I thrive when I’m creating something, sharing what I’ve created, and interacting with people who have created, or are in the process of creating, something that makes them thrive.

This process is what I miss the most about my life as an undergraduate, where I divided my time between classes centered around small group discussions, writing lengthy research papers, working for the school newspaper, and taking part in real activism and, subsequently, writing and sharing articles and poetry about all of these activities with people who did similar things day-in and day-out. Graduating and relocating not once, but twice, and feeling student loan debt breathing down my neck brought this lifestyle to a screeching halt.

However, last night showed me that I have made some progress toward rebuilding and expanding my life in a city I never imagined I’d call “home;” I have managed to find a few like-minded individuals who are making their lives work for them – in their own way and on their own terms. And their ability to do so comes from the fact that they know how to find the perfect balance between biting the bullet and spitting on the loaded gun shoved in their face. My girlfriend does this. My co-worker and friend Bob does this. My friend Lauren does this.

And, recently, I have started to as well. Because if I have learned anything from ten years of rubbing elbows with kids headbanging to metal and hardcore in crowded and dirty bars, it is this: life is only worth living if you’ve made it into something worth loving. And, for all intents and purposes, shows and attending shows are the embodiment of the unbridled pursuit of carving out and creating a niche for people that makes people feel alive and allows them to thrive. It is, at its core, the perfect example of the creative process – from conception to reception.

Maybe this doesn’t make sense. What I’m trying to say is this :last night I stood next to kids who probably feel dead a lot of the time – from dead-end jobs, dead-end relationships, dead-end friends – but, for about four hours, they all felt pretty damn alive. I just hope that one day they realize, like I have, that they weren’t passive agents in that situation; I hope they see that they were a part of what made that moment happen, that they were just as active in their “awakening” as the music itself. Because without them creating that moment, that scene, that feeling wouldn’t exist.

And that feeling is exactly what I’m going to start making happen every day in my life. Or die trying.

01.17.12Lower Body PowerIf you read my last two entries, you know that I not only planned on having but did have a great time last night, all while staying within target calories and macros. What I only hinted at, and didn’t expand upon, was that this good time involved the consumption of less “traditional” carbohydrate sources – you know, that alcoholic kind. However, whenever I line up my macros to accommodate what I anticipate to be an epic drinking endeavor, my actual actions always fall short: I walked into the bar with my macros being ~20/140/60 and only had two beers and about three ounces of whiskey and I did this unconsciously. Of course, later in the evening, I did break my “don’t eat after you drink” rule and snuck in a cookie but, in the long run, it means nothing.

With that said, I took the plunge to see how my body reacted to the “whoosh” affect that alcohol gives you and weighed myself. I clocked in at fully-hydrated 120lbs in basketball shorts and a t-shirt. To be honest, this did incite a bit of an internal panic mentality: even taking the post-booze water-weight loss into account, it would appear as if I haven’t gained anything since upping my calories two weeks ago. My “official” two-week check-in is scheduled for Thursday but, since that’s my rest day, I’m going to weigh myself tomorrow. If the scale goes up more than a pound, I won’t take an “official” number until the weekend; if it stays at 120, I’m going to start tinkering with my macros to prepare for another calorie bump.

Work Out

Barbell Squat 5x95 5x115 5x135 5x145 2x5x150 (One rep increase on first set, set increase) 5x135 Notes: I dropped down to 135 after taking a video of the second set of 150s and noticed I was barely hitting parallel. More on this subject in my forthcoming post-weigh-in One Month Update post, though.

Barbell Deadlift 5x115 5x135 5x145 5x150 3x155 2x160 Notes: I don’t usually chase down my 1RM but the Uplifting Girls Fitocracy group has a heaviest deadlift challenge ending on the 31st and I’m participating, hence not trying to get all five reps with the last two weight increases. I don’t feel 100% comfortable with piling on the plates for these, though, because my lower-back tends to get pretty cranky. Slow and steady wins the race.

Seated Calf Raises 5x165 5x170 5x172.5 Notes: I never thought I’d do micro-loading with these but I’ve been trying to hold each rep for a minimum of five seconds so I’ll probably be doing smaller weight increases/longer holds from here on out.

Dumbbell Lunges 5x45 (Five pound increase) 5x40 Notes: If you don’t follow my Twitter, you might not be privy to the fact that I, literally, fell over doing these. My legs were already jelly after leg presses and, apparently, did not want these. However, after the last rep on the set of 45s, I fell over onto the ground, got right back up, grabbed the 40s, busted out that set, and collapsed. Some girl thought I had a heart attack or something and literally came over to make sure I “was alive.” Appropriate way to end my session, I think.

After an epic Thai-date with my girlfriend, macros are currently hovering around a really closely estimated 60/159/190. Will post some much needed food n00dz tomorrow. Sleep time now.

love me some Melt! Haven't eaten there since becoming vegan so that gives me a reason to go now!

Do it! It's definitely worth supporting their vegan endeavors. I've only ever gone twice but both times have been worthwhile. Also, it's nice to see another Clevelander on here! If you ever do decide to hit Melt, we should hang - we can talk about our fitness goals over greasy bar food! Ha.

For sure! I grew up in C-town but actually live in Sandusky now. But I work at the Cleveland Clinic downtown so I'm there 3x/wk. Nothing like talking fitness while indulging in a beer and food!

all your lower body lifts are so heavy!!!! awesome! i want to see the squat video!!!

Lower body power days are my addiction. I always walk (crawl?) away from them as drained as I am pumped.

On the next one I'm hoping to get one for all three of the "big" lifts that day - squat, deads, and leg press. I just have to remember to charge my phone the night before since using it for music and videos tends to drain it quite fast (especially now that I've joined the world of Twitter and have started using it probably far too much).

01.18.12Upper Body Power DayI slept poorly Tuesday night (approximately six hours of tossing and turning), worked an unnecessarily draining 7.5 hour shift at work, ate haphazardly throughout the day, weighed-in at the same weight I was two weeks ago, when I got to the gym I realized I left my headphones at home, and, despite my personal conviction of “leaving it all outside,” this combination of things most certainly affected my performance in the gym. I have no excuses so, in order to keep the negativity to a minimum, I’m just going to throw this workout into the tank, put it behind me, as I slept big last night, am already getting in some good rest day nutrition, and hit lower body hypertrophy harder than ever on Friday.

I’ll be posting a pretty big update in a bit regarding my one month progress with PHAT, my plans for the future, and all kinds of awesome things to balance out the sheer lack of awesome that is this post, both attitude-wise and numbers-wise.

Work out

Barbell bent over rows 5x65 5x75 2x5x85 5x90 5x80 8x70 Notes: Something about these felt incredibly off today. The 85s were a struggle which was extremely surprising since this is a lift that rarely gives me too much grief. Not a great way to start out my sessions.

Barbell bench press 5x55 5x65 5x70 5x75 (Two rep increase) 2x2x75 2x70 8x45 Notes: My one serious goal today was to get in a set of 5x75. It is the one thing that made today’s session worthwhile.

Standing barbell shoulder press 6x45 5x65 3x50 5x50 4x50 5x50 Notes: While there were no rep increases, I’m at least getting more consistent which is progress since this is my least consistent lift. Making the effort not to keep my back straight, and not arched, definitely helped out and I think my accessory work on hypertrophy days has been extremely beneficial.

Long pulls 5x70 5x80 5x90 5x100 (Ten pound increase) 8x80 Notes: Even these were more difficult than they have been previously.

Tricep pushdowns with rope attachment 5x60 6x70 3x80 10x80 8x70 Notes: When I first tried these with 80, my arms simply locked up. I proceeded to prowl around the gym, huffing and puffing for about 45 seconds, and then just blasted my tris. Felt good then, feels bad now.

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